52 Paths to Heaven

It must be tough for a toddler to distinguish one crowd from another.

I got a kick out my friend’s 2-year-old son who went to church in Cleveland Sunday. He figured it would be just like the last crowd he was around - inside a pro hockey arena in Detroit.

He was thrilled to see so many people. “Hockey! Hockey!” he yelled.

Maybe he didn’t realize the players wouldn’t be racing about. But he picked up on the joy. Everyone came out for a great occasion - to worship the King.

No ice, skates, or protective gear. He just needed wonderment and innocence - enough to make Jesus smile.

Matthew 19:14

Jesus, however, said, “Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these.”

Jesus doesn’t require much from the rest of us - just hearts open enough to receive what He has for us … as we invite Him to transform our lives.

I had heard of this “Everything” drama based on the Lifehouse song. And then I saw it.

I know people who aren’t keen on drama. Yet, given the song, the story and the creative presentation, it’s not hard for me to be moved every time I see it.

The scene is simple - mankind was once at peace with God but fell into sin. And the scary thing is that sin blocks us from God, our Creator. We may seek Him in one fashion or another. But sin is so powerful; sin thwarts us as we search.

When Jesus throws steps in between us and sin - the intensity of the video is undeniable. Finally, He throws sin back, defeating it by His sacrifice. It’s an amazing video that you can easily personalize - whether you’re on the journey toward the Lord or struggling with sin like me even in the beauty of your relationship with Him.

I’ll be signing copies of my book, “52 Paths To Heaven” 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 22 at Logos Bookstore in Kent.

I’ll also be breaking away to a meeting room to give a brief talk, “How Far Will God Go to Reach You?”

The Record Courier published a feature story about the event.

Please stop by if you’re in the area or let me know if you have friends who might be interested.

Could good causes around the globe benefit from just a share of your normal Christmas spending?

How much did you spend on Christmas last year or the year before? What’s your budget this year? Could you cut it by 25% or half and give the money to people or organizations that serve the poor?

Know anyone out of work? Would those you love really love you less if you gave them fewer presents?

It’s a challenge for me. After all, I want to give good gifts to my wife and children.

The notion of cutting back is being championed by the Advent Conspiracy. Check out the bold message.

How can you love those closest to you as well as strangers this holiday season?

Babies, young kids, and others like mentally or handicapped people will go to heaven without having one of those born again moments we think about.

Most people are going to hell. Most people won’t get the fact that Christianity requires a denial of self, a turning away from sin and a love of Jesus - accepting His sacrifice for sin. It’s a simple prescription for heaven. But Matthew 7:13 says most people will miss it:

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

We want to hope for the best, think about God and His mercy and the fact that He’s loving. The fact is, He gave us a free will. Our sin makes us His enemy. And He’s all about justice. We’ll face the punishment of eternal separation from God for a single sin.

It should sound scary. And yet, don’t most people remain apathetic about their souls and fate? They do because they live the self-deception - literally. They’re so focused on themselves that they don’t think God will send them to hell. He will. He must.

I’m impressed that my son has picked up a concept I touch on in the book. It’s about how we seem to forget that you don’t need to see something to believe it’s real. He’s challenging his teacher and students to realize that’s what faith is - not seeing but knowing something is real.

Scientists amaze me with their knowledge and discoveries. But like some scientists, many people grow frustrated when they can’t prove something exists. Therefore, it must not be real, right? Wrong. We can’t see gravity, but we respect its presence. We can’t see God, but we still have faith in Him. He’s more real to us than He needs to be - in that soft, still voice we hear in our minds and in our hearts, in an embrace of a friend or a stranger, in nature, in circumstances and in His Word.

Can’t see Jesus? Set aside your pride and His presence will be clear enough.

It’s late at night and the Oprah show is on. The focus is on Elizabeth Gilbert’s book called “Eat Pray Love.” It makes me shake my head. It’s all about “the light getting in” and your “spiritual path.” It sounds like the author hit rock bottom in her life and went on a spiritual quest overseas. Wonderful - if that’s what it takes to meet Jesus. But I haven’t heard her say anything about Jesus, so maybe her book is just a path on her journey to her real Savior. I guess it’s a best-seller or something. How sad. My book like hers should be secondary to God’s Word. Maybe you’re not reading the Bible and you read my book or hers. That’s OK, but give the Bible a try (get a study guide if you need to).

One audience member talked about how Gilbert’s book is her Bible. Wow…how sad. Apparently, she encountered some god during her journey. Maybe it was my God through some spiritual connection. But she clearly missed the point because only Jesus provides true, stable, lasting access to God. She refers to God as God “the perfection that absorbs.” Well, He’s perfect, but salvation isn’t about having some secret moment with God and all is well.  God, she says, involves the “the divinity within you…that’s where God lives.” Yeah, whatever.

Books like hers and mine can be paths to heaven, but hell and heaven await us. Will we meet Jesus before we die or just go to hell? Will He matter given what He accomplished on the cross? He’s the source of our true peace. We get the Holy Spirit when we choose Jesus. I’m happy for her, being content, having simple pleasures. One day, I hope she meets her Savior and she uses her author status to give Him glory.

As much as I fail to live up to what I know, the truth is, this is all about Him.

The Him is Jesus. He’s the ultimate path to heaven. You may go through a lot of things. You may meet a lot of people. In the end, it’s just you and Jesus or you without Jesus.

I made 52 Paths To Heaven to reflect my personal journey and touch on issues that may be foreign to me but not you (like abortion).

We like to think of prayers and preachers and the Bible as our guiding light. The truth is, the Holy Spirit is our light and He’s authorized to do whatever God wants to reach us - no matter how high we go with our pride or how low we go with our depravity.

You’ll be able to order to book soon. In the meantime, drop me a line if you’re interested in the book or the topic of what we do to get to heaven. I’m eager to know how you feel.

The book should be out December 10th or sooner.

–Mike